OK, here's a thread for you people who are interested in good light output but don't want the headache of HID retrofit or 'blue' tinted bulbs of insane wattages.


They're called HiR bulbs, which stands for Halogen Infrared Reflecting. GE designed them to produce 75% of the light of HID for 25% of the cost. They're used on several cars, including high beams on Dodge Vipers.

They are at 3600k, so slightly whiter than stock. OEM HID comes in at 4100-4300k. These bulbs provide incredible lighting power without an HID retro.

The best news is that they are DOT compliant, unlike HID kits and most of the blue tinted bulbs.

Here's a website with more info on these bulbs. I bought the bulbs from this man, and he's incredibly knowledgeable about automotive lighting:

http://www.hirheadlights.com/

MY COMPARISON

I used 9005 converted HiR bulbs and 9005 converted "Xenon blue" bulb, so it's a direct comparison (i.e. no 9005 HiR compared to 9006 blue bulb).


Here's the lights WITH HiR:


Here's the same shot WITHOUT HiR on the LEFT side:


A similar shot, taken directly in front of the car:

WITH:


WITHOUT on LEFT:


Here's a shot of the headlights, HiR on the left (passenger side) and 'Xenon' bulb on the right.


And finally, here's a shot of the road lit up with HiR bulbs:


I hope that's informative!

Sorry I have no HID comparos, but I can tell you honestly that there is MARGINAL if NO difference compared to a 9006 HID 'kit' light-wise! Everyone said that once you go from HID to halogen you'll be afraid to drive without the light output, but these put out the same light and I lost no lighting quality, only the color! Through the pics you can tell that these bulbs are much brighter than their standard 9005 brother.

I have gone from stock to Sylvania Cool Blues to Sylvania SilverStars to 5300k HID to HiR, and I must say, the Sylvanias don't have ANYTHING on these bulbs! They're definitely up there in lighting quality with HID.

If anyone has any more suggestions, I'll be glad to post more comparisons!


Modified by accordselux at 8:59 AM 8/1/2005

 

Thats pretty cool. Do all the HiR have that same color?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueFang08 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thats pretty cool. Do all the HiR have that same color?

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yep. HiR is just a special coating to reflect Infrared light, so there's no color variation. They are a little whiter than stock headlights, which I noticed from other people's headlights compared to mine. And much brighter

 

badadump

 

now i see why you put the HID kit up for sale...looks good mang.

 

nice writeup. Last time I checked, HiR bulbs were expensive and hard to find, but that was about a year ago. whats the cost of thesethings now and where can you get them

 

what do you have to do to install these? are they a direct plugin or do you need to convert sum things?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jweller &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nice writeup. Last time I checked, HiR bulbs were expensive and hard to find, but that was about a year ago. whats the cost of thesethings now and where can you get them</TD></TR></TABLE>

The website I provided a link to has the bulbs for sale, they only fit 9005 and 9006 apps I believe, and they're 30 apiece. It's a little hefty price wise but much less expensive than HID and some PIAA

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dj14aZnS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what do you have to do to install these? are they a direct plugin or do you need to convert sum things?</TD></TR></TABLE>

They're standard halogen bulbs. For 9006, you need to trim one of the little plastic slats that you twist into the socket. I used 9005 type, so I had to cut down the two guides inside the bulb's socket. If you look up 9005 conversion, you'll see exactly waht I mean.

And on the site, he has directions on how to use them

 

what exactly would I need to do to put these bulbs into my 94 accord? Would I be able to get both low and high beams? $120 wouldn't be too much money to spend for added lighting security when driving the way I do at night.... especially in MN with all the damn animals we have running arround.

EDIT: I see your a temporary St. Paul resident, you know what i mean lol.